


Dark Roast, Room For Cream

by Stromesquad



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-15
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-03-31 13:21:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13975995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stromesquad/pseuds/Stromesquad
Summary: When Mitch turns toward the bathroom, there are now three new also very cute guys at the counter. Fuck my life, Mitch thinks. He can’t just make an ass out of himself in front of one good looking guy, no it has to be four of them.





	Dark Roast, Room For Cream

**Author's Note:**

> CONTENT WARNING: Mitch has an injury at the beginning of this fic. There is blood. He’s fine. 
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks to Lotts, Ash, Ang, and Ki for looking this over and cheering me on.

Mitch is already going to be late for his three hour lecture when he walks into the coffee shop to see probably the most striking guy he’s ever seen, and promptly falls flat on his face, books flying everywhere. He’s the only customer in the store so he should be less embarrassed but then cute barista is hovering behind him and asking if he’s okay and Mitch is like, fine—oh wait, nope, that is a bloody nose. 

 

“Are you all right?” the guy asks again. He’s taller and broad shouldered with blond hair and blue eyes and god why does Mitch have to be such a fucking idiot. He turns around and looks at the guy whose name tag reads  _ Nathan _ .

 

“Um… I will be but I have a bloody nose so if you could like, grab me some napkins and let me gather my pride that would be ideal.” 

 

The guy jumps back to get napkins and Mitch collects himself as best he can while holding one hand under his face, valiantly trying to keep blood off the floor.  It’s not bleeding a lot but still. He doesn’t want to make the guy who clearly has the early shift at the shop have to work any harder than the impending 8:00 am rush already will. Mitch is surprised he was at the counter solo but maybe the other employees are just in the back.

 

He comes back over dropping some napkins in his lap. 

 

“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay?” the guy, Nathan, asks. 

 

“Honestly, yeah. I get a lot of nosebleeds. This one doesn’t feel like a broken nose. I have before so I know what it feels like and this just feels like an ‘ouch’ not a ‘get to me to urgent care.”

 

“Are you sure?” he asks again. “Can I at least get you a water? Ice?”

 

“Ice would be good. Thank you.” 

 

While holding his nose Mitch pulls out his phone and one-handed texts Auston  _ yo I’m not making it to history seminar today tell Dr. Babcock I had an accident on the way to class. _

 

_ You okay bro _

 

_ Yeah just fell _

 

_ K, is your homework in gdocs? I’ll email it to him now? _

 

_ Yeah thanks.  _

 

He gave Auston his gmail password six months ago to edit a paper and never changed his password after her realized you can share documents. It’s times like these that Mitch is glad he is an idiot, and glad that Auston is his best friend. That taken care of, he focuses on getting his nose to stop bleeding which takes a couple minutes but he does just in time for Cute Barista Nathan to come out of the back room wearing gloves with a first aid kit ice pack and a special bag for Mitch to toss his tissues in. 

 

“Bleeding under control,” Mitch says with a wry smile. He deposits the tissues in the bag he’s given and gives it back for Nathan to get rid of. “I’m going to go wash my hands if you wanna just leave the ice for me.” 

 

When Mitch turns toward the bathroom, there are now three new also very cute guys at the counter.  _ Fuck my life _ , Mitch thinks. He can’t just make an ass out of himself in front of one good looking guy, no it has to be four of them. He gets into the bathroom, closes and locks the door, and taps his head against it three times as he thinks  _ this is such bullshit.   _ He lets out a heaving sigh, washes his hands, and returns to face the world. In the no more than three minutes he’s been in the bathroom, a line has already formed. He slips back into his chair and holds the ice pack to his nose. He startles when Cute Barista Nathan™ stops at the table.

 

“I brought you an iced coffee. You look like you need it and this way you can drink through a straw. Don’t worry, it’s on the house.” 

 

“Thanks,” Mitch mumbles, grateful his face is hidden so no one can see how bright red his face is. Nathan’s right. He needs the caffeine if he’s going to salvage any part of this day. He sips his coffee. It’s really fucking good. Too bad Mitch can never show his face here ever again. He says as much to Auston. 

 

_ Sucks dude but you’ll go back _

 

_ Nope. This is like the most humiliating experience i have ever had in front of four of the best looking men i’ve ever seen _

 

_ You’ll go back _

 

_ Nope _

 

_ Whatever you say man  _

 

***

 

Mitch walks past the stupid coffee shop most days. It’s on his way to and from campus but so far he he’s gone out of his way to go to the Starbucks two blocks over when he doesn’t make coffee at home. The coffee isn’t as good and it’s slightly more expensive but it means saving himself the humiliation of having himself remembered as the guy who almost broke his nose just walking in the door. 

 

When he comes home from class with another Starbucks cup in hand a month later, Auston finally looks at Mitch and says, “You know you can go back right? Like it’s fine?”

 

“No, I can’t.”

 

“You really can, bud. It’s just coffee.”

 

“You didn’t see the baristas.”

 

“Whatever,” Auston says as he rolls his eyes. “Drink inferior but more expensive coffee all you want but I’m going tomorrow on the way back from class.” 

 

“Fine,” Mitch says, drawing out the ‘i.’ “I’ll go with you. But if Cute Barista Nathan is there, I’m turning right back around.”

 

“You recognize that will be even more embarrassing right? He’ll probably see you walk in and out.” 

 

“Ugh,” Mitch groans in frustration. “Fine. I’m going with you. I won’t leave if he’s there.”

 

“And you are ordering for yourself.”

 

“And I am ordering for myself,” Mitch says with a sigh. 

 

“Because you don’t want it to look like we’re dating.”

 

“Because I don’t want… hey, why does that even matter?” 

 

“Because you said he’s really cute and if he’s single…”

 

“Guys that good looking never want to date me.” 

 

Auston rolls his eyes. “He probably works opening shift so he probably won’t even be there.”

 

Cute Barista Nathan is, in fact, not there the next day when they go in but one of the other guys who was there in the aftermath is. He’s also tall and blonde and his name tag reads  _ Mikko _ . He is also unfairly good looking. It’s like a requirement to work here. Why is Mitch’s life unfair?

 

They go up to the counter and the first thing the guy at the counter asks is, “How’s your nose?” 

 

“Oh, it’s fine, thanks for asking.”

 

“What can I get for you?” 

 

“Just a small dark roast. Room for milk.” Mikko turns around to make Mitch’s coffee and Mitch turns back to glare and mouth ‘ _ told you so _ ’ back at Auston. He pays for his coffee and goes to wait. He puts his milk in and takes a sip. It is really, really good coffee. 

 

“Well, now that you’ve been here once you can come back.”

 

“I told you they’d remember. I told you. God this place is just going to continue to be humiliating.”

 

“Good coffee is worth the embarrassment.” 

 

Mitch sighs and resigns himself to being mortified every time he walks in.  “You’re right. This coffee truly is.” And if he thinks about it, he kind of wants to see Cute Barista Nathan again. 

 

Mitch drinks a frankly alarming quantity of caffeine. And he’s not ashamed to say he spends way too much money on it. Now that he’s not going to Starbucks he can almost afford double the trips to the coffee shop. He doesn’t even make Auston go with him after the first three trips. It’s been two weeks since Mitch started going back and he’s seen the other two baristas that were there for his epic fail, Gabe and Tyson, but has yet to see Cute Barista Nathan. Honestly, he’s in enough to make friends with the staff. So he asks.

 

“Hey Gabe, how are you today?” 

 

“I’m good how are you?” 

 

“Oh pretty good. I was wondering…” 

 

“Yes?” 

 

“Whatever happened to the other guy? The tall blonde one?”

 

“You mean Mikko? You saw him yesterday.”   
  


Mitch can’t tell if Gabe is being coy or if he’s being stupid. “Obviously not Mikko, the other one. I think his name is Nathan?” He asks as if he doesn’t remember the guy’s name very vividly. 

 

“Oh yeah, he was on vacation visiting his parents in Nova Scotia for spring break and then he took this week off because he had a couple of big exams. Why do you ask?”

 

“Oh just wondering.” 

 

“Okay. What do you want today?”

 

“I will take a double espresso please. Got a lot of work to get done today.”

 

He waits at the counter for his drink when Cute Barista Nathan walks out from the back. Gabe is smirking into the espresso machine, trying not to laugh. What a little shit. Mitch doesn’t know why he decided to like these people. Gabe hands him his drink and Mitch walks over to what has become his favorite booth to settle in and try to get some work done. He fails spectacularly because he keeps looking up at the counter where Nathan is now standing.

 

Nathan is something to look at. He’s tall, broad-shouldered, with an ass that Mitch could write poetry about. He’s got a smile that lights up his face and puts people at ease. Mitch needs another coffee. Maybe this will help him focus so he goes up to the counter.

 

Nate greets him with a blinding grin. “Hey, good to see you! I was starting to think you’d never come back.”

 

“Here I am,” Mitch smiles back. He can feel a blush creeping up the back of his neck. 

 

“I didn’t introduce myself last time. I’m Nate.”

 

“Mitch.” 

 

“What can I get for you, Mitch.”

 

“I’ll um… I’ll take a small dark roast.” He feels a little tongue tied. The blush creeps up from his neck to his cheeks. Nate turns around to pour his coffee.  _ Get your shit together,  _ Mitch thinks to himself. Nate hands him his coffee and smiles again. Mitch smiles back, goes and puts milk and his coffee and back to his seat. He texts Auston. 

 

_ Cute barista nathan is here. He told me to call him Nate. _

 

_ Maybe he thinks you’re cute _

 

_ Shut up he’s just being friendly _

 

_ Sure, that’s why his name tag says Nathan but he told you to call him by his nickname ;) _

 

_ You’re stupid and I hate you _

 

_ Whatever bud, you know I’m right _

 

Mitch rolls his eyes and pushes his phone away. Auston is definitely not right. Mitch is maybe cute but he’s nothing special and Nate is gorgeous. He’s way out of Mitch’s league. There’s no way he’d be into Mitch. Mitch will just sit quietly and enjoy the view whenever he takes a break from working. Which he should be doing. Now. He buckles down and writes his essay. When he looks up to take a break, Nate is looking at him. He smiles and waves at Mitch.

 

***

 

Mitch spends a frankly alarming amount of time and money at the cafe. He likes all the baristas but especially Nate. He’s smart and funny. He draws smiley faces on Mitch’s cups and always asks him about school. He’s quick with a joke and always has a smile for Mitch, even in the middle of the early morning rush. Mitch likes him immensely but he’s way out Mitch’s league so he never does anything about it. He just goes in and buys coffee, smiles too big, stumbles over his words. It’s a little embarrassing, honestly, going into a coffee shop most days just because there’s a cute guy who smiles at him. But Nate’s a really cute guy with a really great smile, so Mitch is willing to suffer a little humiliation to see him. It’ll never go anywhere, Mitch knows, but hey, a guy can dream.

 

It's slow in the coffee shop at 2:00 in the afternoon on a Tuesday. Mitch is leaning on the counter talking to Nate when Auston walks in. Nate let's a little sigh escape his lips, like he’s hating being interrupted. He takes Auston's order and winks at Mitch as he passes.

 

When the order is ready and they are sitting down at what's become 'their table’ in the back corner Auston says, “You know he likes you, right?” 

 

“Um… no? Why would you think that?”

 

Auston sighs. “Mitch he literally just winked at you.” 

 

“He probably winks a lot of people. Like, other frequent customers.” Mitch laughs a little. 

 

“I'm in here almost as much as you are and he has never once winked at me. He doesn't wink at Gabe or Mikko or Tyson either. Pretty sure that it's just you.”

 

“He doesn't like me! He's just being nice.”

 

“Whatever you say, bud. Whatever you say.”

 

They drink their coffee in silence for a few minutes then start working on their project. About an hour in, Nate stops by the table with coffee.

 

“You looked like you needed a refill so I brought some over.” He looks at Mitch and smiles. “You get free refills on black coffee anyway so…” he trails off.

 

Mitch smiles back, wide and happy. “Thanks.”

 

Auston gives him a Look, eyebrows raised, lips pursed, peeking over the top of his glasses. Mitch rolls his eyes and gives Auston a little “we’re not discussing this” glare. Auston respects this and doesn’t say a word but his look so heavily implies their earlier conversation that Mitch can physically feel it. Auston’s face drops back to neutral and they go back to work on their progress leaving Auston’s further thoughts on the subject unsaid. They work for another hour before heading out. 

 

As they pass the counter, Nate says, “I’m working tomorrow, will I see you?” He’s smiling again.

 

“I should be here. I’ll see you then.” 

 

Mitch goes in the next morning at around 10:00 am, when he knows it won’t be busy because he wants time to chat with Nate. He doesn’t have anything else to do so decides to get a latte since he has extra time to wait. Mikko it taking orders today and Nate is making drinks so Mitch ends up leaning on the counter talking to Nate about nothing in particular while he pulls the espresso. The bell on the door jingles as it open so Mitch springs up from the counter and turns away to let Nate focus. Nate hands him the cup and there’s something written on it.  _ Will you go on a date with me?  _ it reads, followed by a phone number. Mitch looks up at Nate, who is making the next customer’s coffee, and then back at the cup, and then back at Nate, who this time is looking back. 

 

“So, will you?” he asks, looking calm and collected. 

 

“Yeah, yes, please. I mean, yes.”

 

Nate laughs a little and hands the finished drink off to the next customer. 

 

“So, I should… should I text you? I should definitely text you.” Mitch hopes he looks as cool as Nate but knows he is blushing bright red and feels like he’s sweating. 

 

“Please, do. That’s why I gave you my number.” Nate is smiling, ear to ear, bigger than Mitch has ever seen. Mitch may look and sound like a total idiot right now but it’s worth it to see Nate smile like that, to know it’s because of him. 

 

“Okay. I will,” and pulls out his phone and texts a smiley face to the number on the cup. He hears Nate’s phone buzz in his pocket. Message received. “I’ve um… I have to go but I’ll um… talk to you later?”

 

“You definitely will.” 

 

Once he’s down the block, he texts Nate again.  _ I’m really glad you asked me out. _

 

Then he texts Auston.  _ Nate asked me out. _

 

_ Told you so. _

  
  


*** 

 

Mitch gets a text from Nate the nest day.  _ How do you feel about dogs? _

 

He responds quickly,  _ very positive love dogs.  _

 

_ How would you feel about going with me and my dog to the dog park _

 

_ I would very much like that  _

 

_ Thursday at 3:00?  _

 

_ Yeah sounds good _

 

So, Mitch has a date with Nate that involves just about the best thing possible, a cute boy with a cute dog. Mitch knows he hasn't seen the dog yet but literally all dogs are cute so the assumption stands to reason.

 

Thursday rolls around and Mitch is nervous. He’s stomping around the apartment trying to figure out what to wear on this warm for early April day. Auston relents and helps him. He ends up on a blue and white plaid shirt open over a t-shirt with dark jeans and Chucks. Comfortable, casual. He feels like himself and that’s probably the most important thing for a first date, and it’s not like Nate hasn’t literally seen him roll up to the cafe in sweats and stretched out tee he stole from Auston. 

 

Mitch meets Nate on the corner by the dog park. He has a gorgeous golden which is, Mitch supposes, makes sense. They are like a dog version of Nate. 

 

“Hey!” Nate calls to Mitch as he crosses the street. When Mitch gets there he leans in for the hug. Mitch doesn’t know why he didn’t expect that but he’s glad it happened. Nate gives good hugs. 

 

“Hey,” Mitch says with a smile. “And who is this?” 

 

“This is Duke. He’s my buddy. He has a brother at home but my mom lets me take Duke to school with me. I kind of raised him myself. Trained him one summer before I went back to school.” 

 

“That’s cool!” 

 

“Yeah. I left him home that first semester but mom said he just sat outside my room and whined so when I asked if I could take him to school with me the next semester, she said yes. He’s come with me ever since. The benefits of living off campus.”

 

“We aren’t allowed to have dogs at my place or I would have tried to kidnap mine. And Auston won’t let us have a cat because he’s allergic. I’m petless for now. But I have a lab at home, and a cat.” Mitch bends down to pet the dog. “Hi Duke. I’m Mitch. Who’s a good boy?” He gets a big wet kiss on the face from Duke and even if everything else about this date goes poorly, it would still be a success because dog. 

 

They get into the dog park and sit down on a bench. Mitch finally gets to know a little more about Nate than he can at the coffee shop as they take turns throwing the ball for Duke. Nate is a junior and a bio major. He’s getting ready to apply for med school in the fall. He’s two years older than Mitch but only a year ahead in school because he played pretty serious hockey. So, Nate is kind of the whole package and honestly it isn’t really fair. But Mitch is absolutely not going to question his luck. When a smart, funny, athletic, beautiful guy is into you, you just kind of have to roll with it he decides. After throwing the ball with Duke for a little while, they walk over to a sandwich shop with outdoor seating that’s open so they can eat without having to take Duke home. It’s a nice lunch, and a nice date. They get along well and have a lot in common. 

 

After lunch, Nate offers to walk Mitch home and Mitch says yes. When they get there, Duke kind of loops around them in a circle pushing them closer together. 

 

“Sorry,” Nate apologizes. “I don’t know what he’s doing.” He starts trying to untangle himself.

 

Mitch puts a hand on Nate’s arm. “It’s okay.” This is the absolute best first date he’s ever been on and it seems like Nate had just as much fun. He takes a deep breath, gets a little brave, and kisses Nate. Just as he’s about to pull away, Nate kisses back. And it’s pretty much the best first kiss Mitch has ever had. 

 

When they break apart, Duke is sitting next to Nate, waiting, and if a dog could look smug, looking smug. 

 

“Wanna go out again?” 

 

“Is tomorrow too soon?” Mitch asks.

 

“Tomorrow is perfect.”

 

***

 

They keep going on these great dates, dinner, movies, one memorable BYOB painting night that’s a double date with Tyson and Gabe that ends with more paint on them than it does on the canvas. They are asked not to come back after that but honestly it was worth it. Mitch is still laughing as he washes the paint out of his hair with Nate. It’s the first time he stays over. They have fun and in all honestly, it gets serious pretty fast. 

 

Not long after finals, Mitch goes back home to Toronto and Nate goes back to Nova Scotia. It should be hard, having a long distance relationship that is still so new, but being with Nate is easy, like breathing. They talk every day and make plans to visit. Mitch flies out to visit Nate in mid-July. They pick up easily where they left off at school. It’s perfect. 

 

One night they get the idea to pitch a tent in Nate’s back yard, like people do when they’re kids. They’re laying on their stomachs on top of sleeping bags watching a movie on Netflix when Nate turns to Mitch. 

 

“Hey Mitch,” he says as he pauses the movie.

 

“Yeah?” Mitch turns to look at Nate.

 

“I think I might be in love with you.”

 

“That’s good, because I think I might be in love with you too.” 

 

Mitch is so happy he feels like he’s flying. He somehow found this great guy and he doesn’t understand how he got so lucky, but he just accepts it and lets himself be in love. It’s a good life, Mitch thinks.

**Author's Note:**

> In this universe, Nate still played on the Halifax Mooseheads. He chose not to play college hockey.
> 
> Nate thought Mitch and Auston were dating for like a solid month but he like never saw them kiss when one left so he like, asked Auston and Auston was like “Bro, that’s really gross.”


End file.
